Tessa Hughes is a journalism sophomore and opinion columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.
Every girl remembers the day when Aunt Flo first knocks on her door unexpectedly, coming to ruin her life for the next 30 to 40 years. It’s not a choice, either.
Periods: The burden no woman asked for. Cramps, headaches, bloating, constant hunger, mood swings, bleeding excessively out of our vaginas for a week straight — sounds like a joy ride, doesn’t it?
What makes it even sweeter is that up until this year, the products designed to ease the toll menstruation takes on women were taxed as luxury products.
Yes, I can repeat that for those in the back: luxury products.
That seems about right.
The intense cramping that makes it feel like you’ve been shot in the back — we live for it.
The headaches that take four ibuprofen to alleviate — we love poppin’ pills.
The bloating that ensues so much so that regular clothes aren’t comfortable — hey, any excuse to wear sweatpants all day, am I right?
The persistent hunger and deep cravings for chocolate — just another reason to try out that new chocolate cake recipe you have.
The rollercoaster of emotions you get taken on daily — crying at the drop of hat will be great for a future acting career.
Well, I hate to break it to you ladies, but this life of luxury is over!
That is right. As of this year, in the state of California, it is illegal to tax menstruation products as luxury goods. That means all of your tampons, pads and diva cups are now tax-free!
Before this bill was put in place, California women were collectively spending about $20 million in taxes alone on their period products. What are we going to do with all this new money? Maybe the government is hoping this will make up for the gender wage gap.
I mean, taxing these items was totally fair in the first place.
The nonstop, monthly bleeding for 40 years is not something women can help, but if they truly wanted to eliminate their periods, it’s easy to do so! They have so many options: go in for a surgical procedure, get pregnant or simply try different forms of birth control. It’s not like the government tries to regulate that in any shape or form, or merely works to find new ways to control women’s bodies for that matter.
Economically, the tax made total sense for the government. It’s guaranteed revenue and preying on those who can’t change their circumstances is their bread and butter.
And offering menstruation products for free to ease the strain of an already taxing process? As if!
Only condoms can be offered to people for free because those aid in satisfying male sexual desires, and as we all know, in this day and age, the male gaze and its power are unavoidable and impenetrable.
A company recently came under fire for putting up signs discouraging the theft of menstruation products. Stealing is wrong and illegal, so this scrutiny, naturally, is backwards. Who would steal tampons in the first place? The average price of a box of tampons is $6. It’s not like they are that necessary for women. They were considered a luxury for a reason.
For those of you worried that it is unjust, us women being stripped of our life of luxury, have no fear. The tax instated will only last for two whole years.
That means, that by the year 2022, our uteruses will once again not be the only thing attacking us and our life of luxury can once again commence.